Car rental to/from Bari, airport or centro

We once picked up at Hertz near the train station (we walked from old town) and dropped at the airport. It’s easy to head out of town from the train station area. I’d do whatever makes it easier for you.
Unless your family members will need door-front drop-off, it should not be a big deal to drive into Bari.
I have taken a taxi from the airport but not in town, but you can always look up a company and call if a taxi stand is not nearby.

I've been here three days now and have yet to see even one taxi, except at the airport. It's about 28 euro from airport to center city/central station.

I imagine you have to phone for a radio taxi; they do not cruise the streets here.

Parking In the city seems difficult.

I will rent from SIXT at the airport this week. But from what I see now, I think the drive from the station would not be too difficult. It's just easier from the airport, or at least I imagine it is.

I dropped a Europcar off just this morning at Bari Airport.

Bari’s Airport has its own train station with trains going to central Bari ( “Bari Centrale” train station). So, it’s easy to get to a car agency at the airport from downtown Bari. From Bari Centrale, trains run to Polignano a Mare, Monopoli and Lecce.

And, while we based in Polignano a Mare and were in Bari for only a short time—-we saw almost no taxis in downtown Bari while we were there.

I agree driving in downtown Bari and finding parking there will be very problematic. The traffic is intense and parking is really difficult. ( Bari’s metro population is 1,200,000). If your accommodation doesn’t offer dedicated parking— I would rethink having a rental car in Bari. My impression is that Polignano a Mare ( pop. 18K) and even Monopoli ( pop.50K) are much smaller and arguably better options for towns to stay in. Monopoli has a Europcar rental office as well.

We picked up a car at the Bari airport a few weeks ago (easy), drove it to town and just parked it for a couple days (fairly easy, as long as you stay the heck away from the old center and its ZTL, which we did). When we left Bari a couple days later, we had to do some errands and managed parking in the new town a couple times without too many headaches - so it’s possible. If you avoid Bari’s historic center, it’s doable (though the old center is where you will probably want to be).

The other towns nearby were mostly similar in that you do NOT want to mess with the car in the old centers, but as long as you park outside and huff it on foot to the good stuff, the driving/parking can generally be manageable.

But if you aren’t careful, sometimes it’s easy to get distracted and funneled into the old center. I had that experience last week in Gravina where, even though I was trying hard to avoid the old center, the only way forward was to go deeper and deeper in (no way to turn around or just turn away), and at one point the street became so narrow we had to fold in both side mirrors and my car’s tires were rubbing up against the curbs on both sides at the same time (I could feel and hear the tires rubbing) - literally squeezing through the street. The ZTL was actually open at the time so we weren’t risking a ticket but I found myself increasingly jammed between the curbs on both sides and we came VERY close to getting physically stuck (with several cars behind me, right on my bumper). Luckily we popped out and the streets became wider, so we were able to drive on (and even found a place to park) but man, that was stressful. Not recommended.

We returned the car to the airport 3 days ago - again, pretty easy.

Outside of the old city centers we found the driving was pretty easy, once you make the necessary adjustments for Italian conditions and drivers. What an amazing region!

We are currently in Budapest for a few days, before we fly home on Friday.

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David, your driving experience in Bari sounds pretty horrible! Several years ago we had a somewhat similar experience in Campobasso, but didn't have to deal with possible ZTL restrictions. It was more that the roads became so narrow they were the same width as the sidewalks! And yes, thank goodness for folding mirrors.
I think everyone has convinced me, we'll pick up and drop off at the airport. I really don't mind driving in Italy but try to avoid city centers at all costs. We plan to stay in Matera, Lecce and Ostuni so I'll have to check about ZTLs and parking in each town. Also, we'll need overnight parking in each place but I'll just check with the lodging each time.
Thank youj.

We plan to stay in Matera, Lecce and Ostuni so I'll have to check about ZTLs and parking in each town

We were in all three towns last week. ZTLs in all of them. We stayed in Lecce and Matera (3 nights each), did Ostuni as a day trip. To some extent, parking and relative ease/challenges of access will depend on exactly where you’re staying. By all means, ask your hosts; ours provided very good info. Certainly keep the car outside the centro istorico in all of them.

We found very good paid public parking for Matera and Ostuni. For Lecce, we found paid street parking with some effort. (In all cases, outside the old centers, of course.) I’m currently packing for our flight home and limited to an iPad; after the weekend I can provide some suggestions for all three towns via PM if you like. Amazing places.

Thank you David. Safe travels home. I'll PM you over the weekend.

David, How crazy was your car ride through that ZTL zone in Gravina! You practically needed to shapeshift your car into a Mini or a golf-cart like the locals use!

I can relate, because we got into the same one-way street funneling us into the ZTL in Alberobello. Found ourselves in the main (pedestrian-only) piazza and did a U-Turn to get out of there. Lotsa fanfare with horns honking at us, but—hey—this is Italy!

Have fun in Budapest.

Cheers!

I picked up my car at the airport a few hours ago. Flat rate taxi from city center costs 28 euro but right, it is VERY DIFFICULT to get men a radio taxi nowadays in Bari. The lady at our hotel called and called before she connected, but after that, the taxi was there in 5 minutes. We stopped on a corner and the driver got out, and his son drove the rest of the way!!!

Driving out of the airport is, as posters have said, very easy. There is construction on the way south, to Brindisi, Ostuni, etc,, so prepare for delays.

Wow, thank you for the real time update, that's very helpful. We're definitely going to do pick up and return at the airport. Given what you said about getting a taxi from Bari to the airport, we'llprobably just take the train there since our timing is more flexible on that day. I just realized we'll need to return to the airport mid morning on our departure day because we'll take a train from Bari to Rome and the last one of the day that is direct (4hrs vs 8+hrs) leaves Bari Centrale at around noon so we'll take either a taxi from the airport or the train/bus to the train station. I did consider flying, Ryanair has a direct flight that leaves about the same time as the train, but to be honest give the extra lead time needed at the airport for check in, then the time to get from FCO to Termini in Rome, it's not much shorter overall and while the cost isn't terrible, we'd have to check bags because their size limitations are so restrictive, which means waiting to collect luggage at FCO.

Thanks for the traffic/construction delays warning, good to know. We're heading directly to Matera from Bari airport but will be continuing our trip, driving south after 2 nights.
Thank you.

Where are you headed after Matera? (Just curious, as I am currently outside Ceglie Messapica, a most underrated town, I my opinion.)

Ceglie Messipica is great and an undiscovered gem, I agree.
Also found Locotorondo interesting with lots of Trulli buildings in the.surrounding vineyards and olive groves. No need to even go into Alberobello for Trulli sightings.

Thank you for these great tips on some undiscovered places to check out. I realize that there's just not enough time to see it all! We'll definitely plan another trip. For this trip we've booked 2 nights in Matera, 2 nights in Lecce and 2 nights in Monopoli. We don't have our days planned out and will have a car, so hopefully we can visit some of these places.

If your time is tight, I'd give Alberobello a miss. You'll see lots of trulli all over that area; no need to visit that town, which from hat I've heard on this recent trip, has become a trulli Disneyland, having with tour groups.

Do check out some of the less visited towns; there are many "undiscovered" gems around there. I mentioned Ceglie Messapica (where I got a 42 parking tickets!). We also loved Fasano.

Update - Thank you for all of the responses, we rented our car from Bari airport, europcar, through autoeurope. We were in Bari the night before (had taken flixbus from Salerno to Bari) staying a few blocks from the train station. We took the train from Bari Centrale - this is a separate company from trenitalia, the ticket counter is on the right 'wing' of the train station (facing the train station). We bought the ticket from the person at the desk although you can buy it from a machine there as well. (5.50 euro each) we specified which time we wanted. The tracks for the airport train are just down the stairs from the ticket counter. You don't have to validate your ticket before getting on the train BUT save your ticket, you need it to get out at the airport. (We saw several people scrambling to find their ticket or going through the trash bin...) From the train track at the airport station it's about 5-7 minute walk, all inside and well marked, to get to the departure/arrivals section of the airport. We waited for our sister in law who was flying in then picket up the rental car. (rental desks are just outside the arrivals baggage claim area). When we dropped off the car 6 days later we just took the train back to Bari Centrale (where we took a train to Rome.) All in all, I'm glad we rented from the airport rather than downtown Bari, especially since we had to meet someone at the airport. Instead of taking the train, you can also get a bus that's cheaper (~2 euro?). Both trains and buses run frequently, the train is faster and for us a bit more convenient with the luggage (1 carryon suitcase and back pack each).

I'll be picking up a rental car in Bari by the train station. I was told it's pretty easy to get to and from there. I really hope that's correct. I live in a rural area, so even driving in cities in the US, where road signs and traffic rules make sense to me, makes me a little nervous.

I can't say much about car pick up by the train station, I decided to get it at the airport. We didn't drive in Bari itself. After having rented cars several times in different parts of Italy, I've identified a few stress points for me, and ways to minimize the stress:

1. Get the smallest car that will fit you and your stuff. This last trip I reserved a mid size SUV (described as "Opel GrandLand IGAR or similar Automatic Intermediate class"). When I got to the Europcar desk at the airport the woman asked me how many bags I had then said I could upgrade for just a little more to a bigger SUV, I said no, I didn't want bigger so she ended up giving me a Ford Focus wagon, which was in the same category, no extra charge. It was ok, except it was weirdly longer than any focus wagon I'd ever seen before.
2. Refilling the gas tank, especially to return it full can be stressful, because you're in a hurry to get to the drop off place, you have to find a gas station close by, and sometimes US credit cards are rejected, even if you have a pin, it doesn't let you enter it, just says declined. This trip we tried 3 different cards, 1 from UK, 2 from US all rejected. We used cash, fed into the machine but it won't give change and not knowing how much we needed, we did 20 Euro twice, checking the gauge in between. It was just about at full, but of course it dropped to 7/8 by the time we got to the return, about 15 km away. I had to pay both a 22euro surcharge and for the few more liters they put in, so it cost an extra 33 euro. Next time I will ask to prepay to be able to return the car on empty. It might cost more upfront but saves stress and hassle. I admit, I could have just put another few liters in but we were running out of time and cash.
3. One of the most stressful times of driving is when you first get into the car and start driving. Take your time, get used to every switch, lights, windshield wipers etc. Turn the car on and check for any warning lights on the dashboard, don't be afraid to speak up if there's anything you're not sure about, do it before you leave. Also, before picking up the car, I always try to go on google maps, step through the steps of directions for your first destination and 'drive' it at street view. I don't commit it all to memory but sometimes just having seen the road signs virtually helps.
4. I always take all the insurance, zero cover, extra coverage, whatever they offer. This time I even took roadside assistance. These are all costly and can add up so that the total cost is almost double the day rate. But, for peace of mind, if you can afford it and want to minimize stress, it's worth it. This time the car I drove had a very low clearance, and driving into a steeply sloping parking garage, the bottom scraped. I just shrugged and said thank goodness I got the insurance. When I returned the car, they didn't even look or note the car condition because it was all covered. If you decide not to take all the insurance, be sure to take photos and videos all around, including the underside, the windshield, and the roof.
5. Driving on the main roads, especially highways is pretty easy. The hardest part is figuring out the speed limit, it's not always posted. In Puglia this trip, several places in the divided highway were posted as 50kmh. If you drove that speed even in the right lane you would cause accidents. Most people were going 90-110. I'm not sure if I misunderstood the speed limit, some signs clearly had flashing lights on top that I assumed meant 50 when flashing due to road work, but some didn't. I usually went the speed of other cars in the right lane ~75-80kmh and looked for the posted traffic cameras, which are well marked.
6. Driving in city centers is always a little stressful. I always opted for the first parking lot or free space I could find and just walk from there. At our overnight stays, once the car was parked, I didn't use it until we left the cities.

Hope this helps.